The meeting, planned for 9:30 a.m. at the state house, was granted at Jealous's request. "They are meeting," said O'Malley spokeswoman Raquel Guillory. "The death penalty will be a topic of discussion."

The NAACP will hold a news conference after the meeting. This year, the civil rights organization plans a major push for full repeal of the death penalty. The governor tried for a full repeal in 2009 -- but fell short in the Senate. The upper body has since become more liberal.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch has said that he would wait for the Senate to act before taking it up in the House.

After a 45-minute meeting Thursday morning with Gov. Martin O'Malley, NAACP national President Ben Jealous said the governor “supports repeal of the death penalty but wants the civil rights organization to line up support before he decides whether to make the effort an administration priority.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen said Thursday he will support President Barack Obama's controversial nuclear agreement with Iran, a decision that could have implications for the Democrat's campaign for Senate in Maryland.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Elijah E. Cummings and Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski introduced an emergency spending bill that would direct $1.2 billion in funding to address challenges faced by inner-city neighborhoods, an effort to reverse what they described as decades of disinvestment.

WASHINGTON -- A powerful state lawmaker with close ties to Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski will endorse Rep. Chris Van Hollen's campaign for Senate on Thursday -- the first major endorsement to come from Baltimore in the state's high-profile political contest.

WASHINGTON -- In an effort to expand the number of local agreements to lower the price of a heroin overdose drug, a pair of Democrats are urging other communities to reach out to a leading manufacturing and request a reduction.